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Technologies, Law and Society

The Technologies, Law, and Society (TLS) Research Group brings together researchers working on issues at the intersection of law and technology. This includes those conducting research in the areas of information technology law, intellectual property law, health and medical law, bioethics, data protection, privacy, and security of information. The group is also interested in the appropriate regulation of new, emerging, and disruptive technologies, (including direct-to-consumer genetic tests, wearable technology and the Internet of Things, reproductive technologies, and AI) as well as the ethical issues raised by particular technologies and their societal impact.

News and Events

Navigating Privacy in a Data Centric World - Monday, 28 January 2019
Almost every area of technical progress today is reliant on ever broader access to personal information. Companies, academic researchers, governments and philanthropists utilise ever more sensitive data about individuals movements, health, online browsing, home activity, social interactions. To collect the data, cars, drones, phones, wearables, TVs and faces are tracked. Sensors that see and hear collect new types of information and machine learning provides exponentially deeper analysis. Will European data protection reshape the leading data intensive technologies? With the backlash against tech company practices lead to regulation in the US and globally? What role for Ireland at the centre of the new generation of regulation and tech development? Can data be mined for the benefit of society without creating an Orwellian future?

Getting Ready for the GDPR - CPD Event - Wednesday, 9th May 2018
This panel event will provide a timely update on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which comes into force on the 25th of May 2018. Our speakers will cover a number of important topics including: state of play on the GDPR in the Irish context; data protection damages; the new Irish Data Protection Bill; and issues raised by emerging technologies, focusing on the example of commercial genetic tests.